Casket



April 27, 1954 w. E. LIPMAN CASKET Filed NOV. 14, 1950 Wilfred E. Lipman INVENTOR. Mm"- M5"),

Patented Apr. 27, 1954 UNITED STATES oFFi-CE CASKET Wilfred E. Lipman, Charleston, S. .0. Application November 14,1950, Serial No. 195,611

' 3 Claims.

The present invention relates "to new and useful improvements in caskets and more particularly to an improved 'lid construction.

An important object of the invention is to construct the head section of the lid of the casket to provide a cross which may be swung upwardly into an upright position at the back of the casket to add a religious touch thereto.

Another object of the invention is to provide a head section for the lid of the casket composed of a plurality of independently hinged panels and including a hinged cross which may be moved into an upstanding position at the back of the casket independently of the remaining lid panels.

A still further object is to provide acasket lid of simple and practical construction, which is neat and attractive in appearance, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and otherwise well adapted for the purposes for which the same is intended.

Other objects and advantages reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the hinged panels forming the head section of the casket in open position;

Figure 2 is a top plan view showing the lid in closed position;

Figure 3 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken on a line 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of one of the hinged lid panels taken on a line 4-4! of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the cross in a raised position while the remaining panels of the lid remain closed.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, wherein for the purpose of illustration I have disclosed a preferred embodiment of the invention, the numeral 5 designates a casket which includes a foot lid section 6 and a head lid section I.

The head lid section 1 is constructed of a pair of outer rear panels 8 and 9 and single outer front and end panels I0 and II, a pair of inner front panels [2 and I3, a pair of inner rear panels Id and 55, a single inner end panel l6 and a cross l'i. Outer panels 8, 9, l0 and l I, and the base of cross I! are hinged to the upper edge of the casket by conventional type of hinges l8 for independent outward swinging movement at the front, rear and. end of the casket, and the inner panels I 2, 93, l 4, I 5 andlfi are hingedto theinner edges of the adjacent outer panels tby conven- 'tional type of hinges IQ for independent swinging movement outwardly of the outer panels.

I he several panels and cross lie flush with each other, when the head section 7 is closed, and the base 20 of the cross I! is positioned between the inner and outer pairs of rear panels, while the top 2i of the cross is positioned between the pair of inner front panels, and the arms 22 and 23 of the cross are positioned between the inner front and rear panels, as shown in Figure 2.

Strips of buokram 24, or similar flexible material connect the front and end outer panels It and H to the inside of the casket to hold the said outer panels in a substantially horizontal open position, as shown by dotted lines in Figure 3, and a strip of buckram 25 connects the cross ll and rear outer panels 8 and 9 to the inside of the casket to hold the cross and rear outer panels in an upright position. The hinges for the front, rear and end inner panels permit the same to swing downwardly at the front, rear and end of the casket.

The top and arms of the cross are locked to their adjacent panels by conventional type of spring catches 26.

The inner surfaces of the several panels, including the cross II, are provided with a suitable lining 27 corresponding to the usual bedding 28 and interior finish of the casket.

In the operation of the device, the several panel sections are closed in interfitting relation to form the head lid section 1 of the casket and all of the panels may be moved into an open position, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawing, or the cross ll may be independently moved into an open upstanding position at the back of the easket, as shown in Figure 5.

In View of the foregoing description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing it is believed that a clear understanding of the construction, operation and advantages of the device will be quite apparent to those skilled in this art. A more detailed description is accordingly deemed unnecessary.

It is to be understood, however, that even though there is herein shown and described a preferred embodiment of the invention the same is susceptible to certain changes fully comprebended by the spirit of the invention as herein described and the scope of the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A casket having side walls including a head lid section composed of an outer front panel, an outer end panel and a pair of outer rear panels, means hingedly connecting said panels to the upper edges of said side walls for independent swinging movement into open position, a pair of inner front panels, a pair of inner rear panels and a single inner end panel hingedly connected to their adjacent outer panels for independent swinging movement into open position, a crossshaped panel hinged at its base to the rear edge of the casket between the pairs of outer and inner rear panels for swinging into an open position, and means connecting the cross-shaped panel to the casket and holding the former in upright open position, all of said panels lying flush with one another when the panels are closed.

2. A casket body including front and rear and end side walls and a head lid section, said head lid section including at least a front panel, an end panel and a pair of spaced rear panels hinged to the upper edges of the corresponding side walls, a cross shaped panel hinged to the upper edge of the rear side wall between the spaced rear panels and swingable independently from all of the panels into an upright position at the rear of the casket.

3. A casket body including front and rear and end side walls and a head lid section, said head lid section including at least a front panel, an endpanel and a pair of spaced rear panels hinged to the upper edges of the corresponding side walls, a cross shaped panel hinged to the upper edge of the rear side wall between the spaced rear panels and swingable independently from all of the panels into an upright position at the rear of the casket, said cross shaped panel lying flush with the remaining panels when closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 45,551 Burris Apr. 7, 1914 13.1 2 Goggins July '1, 1936 595,602 Byers Dec. 14, 189'! 1,451,009 Charlesworth Apr. 1 1923 2,350,084 Williams May 30, 194-4 

